Adventures in China

While Ray and Traci have been to Asia twice, neither had been to China before. They also had never sailed on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCL). The decision by RCL to base one of their newest and most highly regarded ships, the Quantum of the Seas, in China allowed Ray and Traci to do both on one trip.

The November trip began in Seattle, where Ray decided to join the modern world and try Uber as airport transportation and found it to be as advertised - simple, inexpensive, and efficient. At the airport, their Delta flight was one hour delayed to 5pm Pacific time. A few iPad games later, Ray and Traci were headed on a 12 hour flight to Beijing. The nonstop Delta flight was uneventful, but flying 12 hours was not a lot of fun with the fight ending at 9:30pm local time. Ray was nursing a cold, and Traci ended up with a terrible headache after the long flight despite good service from a professional flight crew. The Beijing airport was very modern and clean with abundant signs in English. After clearing immigration, Ray and Traci found their driver waiting from the Beijing Eastern Taxi Service. Although transfers appeared to be readily available (bus/taxi), Ray was concerned after reading stories of travelers being brought to the wrong hotel due to language misunderstandings so he arranged a $60 car service over the internet. Their Chinese speaking only driver brought them after a 30 minute drive to the Hilton Bejing Wangfujing. Traffic can be bad in central Beijing but the late arrival minimized this problem.

The Hilton Beijing Wangfujing is located in central Beijing (Ring 2) near many of the tourist spots - Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square. Both Ray and Traci were quite impressed with the Hilton room, one of the nicest rooms they have seen - the bathroom was twice as big as most basic homes! Everything was modern and set up for western visitors. As part of the bed and breakfast plan, Ray and Traci started the mornings with a great buffet at Vasco's restaurant including western staples and eastern specialties. Most of the workers at the Hilton had some understanding of English, and the property is really nice with the exception of a small underequipped exercise facility that probably gets little use. In contrast, the Hilton has one of the largest indoor hotel pools Ray has ever seen housed in a 6th floor solarium next to the tiny gym. The hotel is 50 yards away from one of the most modern 6 story shopping malls anywhere (called the APM) - filled with the usual American retailers headed by a huge Apple store. Many different varieties of food including American brands such as McDonalds, Dairy Queen and Subway were found.

On Thursday morning, their tour of Beijing begun - Ray arranged a private guide from the company Lead to China after looking at many reviews and taking quotes from several companies. Lead to China included transfer on the third day to the Royal Caribbean port at Tianjin (nearly 3 hour drive) at a very competitive price so they were selected. Unfortunately, rain affected Thursday’s predominantly outdoor tour. Their guide, Andie, met them at the Hilton and with her driver, started the tour at Tiananmen Square.

A town square known for the 1989 uprising by students, the huge area (enough to fit 42 soccer fields inside) borders the next stop - Beijing’s Forbidden City. The past home of Emperors, the area is now open for visitation as a historic site. Starting from the gate with the famous portrait of Chairman Mao, tourists can enter the city with its 9,999 rooms.
 

The complex, built in the 14th century, was impressive for wooden architecture that survived 600 years. Visitors don't get to enter the rooms, but instead view the interiors  from windows.

After exploring the palace, Ray and Traci went to the Temple of Heaven, a place where Emperors worshipped and asked for blessings for their citizen's agriculture along with other critical needs.

The Temple of Heaven is now a large park area with many authentic structures and serves as a recreational area for many different interests from martial arts to dance to gaming. The 600 year old wooden circular towers were beautiful symbols of Chinese regard for Heaven. After a lunch stop at a tasty Chinese restaurant (meal consisted of shrimp and sweet corn, garlic chicken, and spicy beans) and the obligatory stop at a Pearl Factory, the final stop of the day was the Summer Palace.

About 45 minutes away from the Forbidden City (longer in bad traffic), the Summer Palace is a huge waterfront complex complete with royal residences and offices, a marble nonfunctional royal yacht, and a Buddhist temple. While the rainy weather put a damper on the beautiful setting, the waterfront location on a large lake was still very pretty. At the Buddhist Temple, Ray made his perennial request for his Mariners to play in the World Series. Hopefully his meager contribution of only a 1 Yuan note (about 16 cents) won't dissuade the All Powerful from granting the request. You can clearly see the similar Chinese architecture on the Forbidden City and Summer Palace, much of the construction was around the 14th century AD. When compared with royal furnishings at European palaces such as Versailles (France) or Peterhoff (Russia) the Chinese Emperors appeared to have lived a much more rustic and practical life than the incredible luxury found in their European counterparts.

The ride back to their hotel was slow due to heavy Beijing traffic, but after nearly 10 miles of walking (according to Ray's fitbit), they were ready for some rest. Although a huge selection of both Asian and American food was available in the mall, the travelers decided just to eat food at the Hilton. The 16 hour time difference along with his nasty cold made it difficult for Ray to stay awake, so he nodded off at 9PM only to be wide awake at 3AM. Fortunately the Hilton gym is open 24 hours so he started Friday with some exercise.

After breakfast, Ray and Traci were picked up by their guide and driver and headed to the Great Wall. Instead of another rainy day, fairly heavy snow was falling in the city. This made the normally hectic commute in Beijing even more interesting. Drivers, scooters, cyclists and pedestrians don't really share the road as much as they compete for it. Traffic signals are sometimes considered optional and drivers have no hesitation when turning and merging. The shopping stop was first on the agenda Friday - this time at a Jade factory. Leaving without purchasing anything, Ray and Traci were advised by their guide that the snow complicated Great Wall visits and she recommended changing the destination for their wall experience. Originally, the popular Mutianyu site was planned but because of the snow, the Juyongguan Pass location was substituted as their guide thought it would be less slippery.

The elevated wall runs along hilly terrain in many locations so climbing steps is necessary to advance. At intervals along the wall, towers are found where soldiers used to be stationed awaiting enemy troops. In total, the Wall once extended some 13,000 miles but today remains intact in only a few places as a tourist attraction. The stairs are somewhat irregular and with a coating of snow they were quite slippery. Both Ray and Traci were quite sure the attraction would have been closed in the US due to liability concerns as the weather made movement quite hazardous. However, the snow covered hills made the whole setting quite beautiful and a definite highlight of the China visit.

After leaving the Great Wall, Ray and Traci were brought to a restaurant which was set up for tours. Sitting directly above a huge shopping bazaar, the restaurant had both traditional Chinese dining and a buffet. Ray and Traci went to the buffet where Ray had a very unauthentic Chinese lunch of chicken strips, fries and rice while Traci had egg flower soup, sweet and sour chicken, some mystery fish, steamed vegetables and rice. Neither traveler felt there was anything memorable about lunch. The final stop on their tour was at the Dingling Tombs, where the Ming Dynasty emperors were buried. The whole complex houses 13 of the 16 emperors tombs and one was opened up to be a tourist attraction after it became flooded. The tombs were certainly less ornate than the Egyptian pharaohs burial chambers - the bodies were placed in nondescript red coffins, not golden sarcophaguses, along with smaller red boxes containing their valued possessions. What was interesting was how many people would leave money at the red coffins of dead leaders in hopes of receiving good fortune. This is certainly in contrast to America where people give money to living political leaders in order to get good fortune.

 

From the Dingling Tombs, a brief picture stop was made at the Bird's Nest, the site for many of the 2008 Beijing Olympics events, and then return back to the Hilton for a light dinner and some Friday night exploration. The APM mall sits on Wangfujing Street which is like Times Square for Beijing - many very high end retailers can be found along with more modest merchandisers. Along with an avenue full of LCD screens, the adventurous finds a row of street vendors called the "Night Market." Beijing boasts a wide variety of street foods not seen elsewhere - spiders, scorpions, snakes, and other exotic dishes. More than a few bets and dares have been settled at the Night Market! Despite the enticement of an exotic dessert, Ray decided to instead have a boring chocolate dipped ice cream cone at the mall Dairy Queen. After dessert, Ray and Traci returned to the Hilton for their final night on land.

For the curious (with strong stomachs) some Night Market foods can be found at: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B9_h_AZcmU3gTGZNeU9EdFJRZm8&usp=sharing

Again waking up early in the morning, Ray started his morning at the Hilton pool - the solarium area was quite chilly (understandable since it was still snowing), and the water was a little on the cold side but a swim in the 25 meter pool was a nice way to begin the day. After a final buffet breakfast, Ray and Traci completed their brief experience into the culture and history of this great nation and were transported to their cruise ship by their guide and driver. The nearly 3 hour drive (including one smoking break for the driver) highlighted the huge housing complexes needed for 27 million people - clusters of nearly identical high rises some with 20 buildings 30 stories tall pierced the otherwise flat terrain. Upon reaching the port at Tianjin, Ray and Traci parted with their helpful guide and driver and boarded the Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas ship.

The Quantum of the Seas was the first of RCL's high tech super ships holding 4,500 passengers of which 4,100 were Chinese Nationals on this sailing. The 2 year old ship featured attractions such as an ascending capsule ride called the North Star giving passengers a high perspective over the seas. Other highlights include an iFly skydiving simulator, the multipurpose Seaplex, a Flowrider surfing simulator and some very high tech theaters. The ship opened to rave reviews before being assigned Asian routes. The Tianjin cruise port is very large and modern although check in was a bit chaotic due to the volume of people and the lack of clear flow from baggage check-in to room key issuance to immigration and finally to boarding.

Once on board, Ray and Traci found their cabin and their luggage had already been delivered. Before unpacking, they did a little exploring - noting the elegant public spaces, the numerous rapid glass elevators, the wide corridors, the beautiful indoor solarium pool complex, and the Seaplex - RCL's multipurpose indoor space which hosts activities like basketball, roller skating, and bumper cars. While exploring they found no line for the North Star and decided to hop on - the cold rainy weather prevented much of a view, but it was a unique experience to be elevated so far above the ship, much like a Ferris Wheel view.

Even the bartenders were high tech on the Quantum - a pair of robots mix drinks to order for thirsty passengers.

They stopped at the buffet to look at the variety of food which (as expected) was heavy in Asian dishes but included the usual staples including salad bar, fruit selection, and carved meat station. After purchasing the Royal Caribbean refresher package for unlimited soda, Ray and Traci filled their newly acquired plastic cups at the Coke Freestyle machines and returned to their cabin for unpacking. The Coke Freestyle machines allow users to create custom flavors using Coca Cola products and Ray was very happy to see their installation on the Quantum. The travelers had a large dinner at Chops, RCL's signature steakhouse where Ray enjoyed a New York steak, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, caesar salad and mud pie for dessert while Traci had a mesclun salad, Ahi Tuna and molten lava cake. Both meals were quite good and impressed the first time RCL passengers. The friendly restaurant manager struck up a conversation with the travelers and diplomatically remarked that the RCL "product" needed to be adjusted for the Chinese market and they shouldn't extrapolate their first time RCL experience on the Quantum to the entire company. Later in the dinner, the manager also introduced Ray and Traci to another couple who ironically was from Bellevue Washington (minutes from Seattle). The couple had finished an Australian trip and decided to jump on the Quantum before going home. Ray completed the night by watching the theater show featuring Jeremy Eaton. While Ray didn't appreciate the variety show consisting of some balloon tricks, juggling on a unicycle, and other entertainment feats, the predominantly Chinese audience seemed to like it.

Making reservations is quite easy on the Quantum - download the RCL IQ app before sailing or use iPads set up at various locations including the large dining venues. Unfortunately high demand experiences such as the iFly fill up - make your reservations far in advance of the sailing!  Specialty restaurants were far less of a problem - While Ray and Traci did book most of their dinners far in advance of the sailing, it appeared that any of the premium (pay) restaurants had plenty of openings. As one would expect on the most technologically advanced cruise ship, the Quantum had amazing internet service. Unlike other cruises, internet was unlimited for a $15 daily fee and Ray measured the speed at 25 mb/sec allowing access to his Slingbox video (NFL football games!).

Previous reviewers (very small sample size) have not been kind when describing their experiences with the Asian crowds on the Quantum. Like life on land in China, some etiquette such as queuing (waiting in line) become optional. If you spent much time in a vehicle in Beijing, you get the feeling that courtesy is discouraged. It took Ray about half a day to realize that 1) there were probably an incredibly few Asians on board who did not speak Mandarin, and 2) the crew by necessity all had to speak English for emergency instructions from the Captain. In any case, visitors to the Quantum have to bring patience and a mellow disposition to enjoy their vacation. More than any other cruise they have been on, Ray and Traci enjoyed many conversations with crew members from the Hotel Manager on down - with the very high percentage of Mandarin speaking guests, many staff remarked how they enjoyed being able to converse with their rare English speaking guests.

Sunday was a sea day with cool weather - Ray and Traci had a pretty mellow time wandering around the ship going to a few events and watching some of the ships activities. At the Seaplex, the morning was occupied by the first session of bumper cars, then session of roller skating. Ray and Traci went to a luncheon where samples from the ship's restaurants were prepared - so their meal was like an afternoon trip to Costco. They had dinner at celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant. The meal started with a selection of cured meats served on a wooden plank with bread followed by arancini and a salad. For her pasta course, Traci had linguini with shrimp while Ray chose a tagliatelle bolognese. Dessert concluded the meal - Traci had a brownie with ice cream while Ray just had the ice cream. Both diners agreed the meal was quite good and recommend it to future cruisers on RCL. To conclude the evening, Ray and Traci attended the Quantum's celebrated show Starwater. In a manner fitting the most advanced cruise ship on earth, the production show utilized much technological innovation including giant video screens, 7 robot mounted video panels, a moving stage with lifts, and opening ceiling panels for aerialists to descend and captivate the audience. The show was performed in the special 270 lounge at the rear of the ship. This musical production was extremely well done combining aerials, vocals, varied dance styles, colorful costumes, music and special video effects to create a most impressive show. Unfortunately, distractions from the audience such as bright LCD cell phone lights and selfie sticks hindered enjoyment of a spectacular production.

Monday started out with cloudy but warmer weather. After watching some NFL games (it was Sunday afternoon in Seattle) courtesy of the Slingbox, Ray headed to the Quantum's running track which he found to be the best one he has encountered at sea! The 15th deck track at 2.91 laps per mile, was wider than most, had glass panels lining much of the course, had no real choke points, and had a huge magenta polar bear statue greeting you after each lap!

While during the day larger crowds filled the deck interrupting the track, during the early morning it was very free flowing. On his way back from the track, Ray stopped at the gym and found less than a dozen people in the huge fitness facility which had a large selection of unused treadmills, ellipticals, stairmasters, free weights and machines. Ray decided to cool off by trying out the Quantum's celebrated attraction, the Flow Rider - a surfing and boogie boarding simulator, the 56 degree outdoor temperature made the Flow Rider much less popular for this cruise. Ray and only one other person showed up and took turns Boogie Boarding. The Flow Rider is a lot of fun and another great attraction for Royal Caribbean!

Activities, in general, seem less numerous on this RCL cruise than others Ray and Traci experienced although the language barriers were probably most responsible: no Bingo, no incessant calls to art auctions, few trivia contests, no cooking demonstrations. Sometimes, it was baffling where everyone went - wonderful venues like the Solarium (adults only pool, bar, and restaurant complex), the plexiglass covered main pool deck, the gym, even 270 the fabulous venue for Starwater and everyone's "living room away from home" during the day, had plenty of empty seats. The one place that you could always count on being full was the buffet! Ray and Traci rarely ate at the Windjammer Buffet and when they did it was always a struggle to find a seat.

The Quantum arrived at Busan, South Korea around 11 AM Tuesday and the travelers exited the ship to begin their Royal Caribbean organized tour. Busan is the second largest city in South Korea (3.6 million people), and the 6th busiest marine port in the world. The tour bus first brought the group of 39 English speaking guests to APEC House, the site of the 2005 meeting of Pacific Rim leaders including then President Bush and current Russian President Putin. Nestled in a waterfront park, the building remains an important landmark for Busan. Next stop was the United Nations Military Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK) where 2,300 soldiers were buried including 36 of the nearly 37,000 Americans who died to preserve South Korea.

From the UNMCK, the tour continued to the downtown shopping district and Fish market where participants could view huge areas of merchants selling dried, fresh, and even still living fish and other sea creatures. The final stop was at Yongdusan Park where the Busan Tower stands. The 120 meter tower provided a very scenic view of the coastal city.

With the conclusion of the tour, Ray and Traci had dinner at one of the regular (complimentary) venues called American Icon. The Quantum's standard dining venues - Chic, Silk, Grande and American Icon have two dinner seatings approximately 5:30 and 8:00 pm, so if you aren't in line by 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm respectively, you are turned away from the main dining rooms. Ray and Traci were assigned early dining so when they choose to make a reservation at one of those four restaurants they are assigned 5:30 pm. There can be quite a crowd when seating begins. Traci had a spinach salad, blackened snapper, and apple pie while Ray had clam chowder, baby back ribs, and an ice cream sundae. Traci’s fish was overcooked and Ray thought the meat for his ribs was far from tender - given the location of the ship in Asia, quality meat may be hard to come by. Ray and Traci decided to pass on the headline singing performer, Tamera Guo and instead turned in early to rest for their next day in Japan.

Tuesday started out sunny as the Quantum docked in Fukuoka, Japan. Fukuoka is Japan's 6th largest city with 2.5 million people. Ray and Traci decided to forgo the ship organized tour and venture out into the city. The Quantum docked away from the main cruise terminal (which was occupied by a Costa Cruise ship). They needed to take a taxi into the city and started at Maizuru Park to visit the ruins of Fukuoka Castle - while little of the castle remains, it serves as a nice platform to view the city.

Next, Ray and Traci visited the Fukuoka Art museum and viewed the contemporary art on display including works by Miro and Andy  Warhol. The art museum is located in Ohori park which reminded Traci of Greenlake (in Seattle) being a circular park around a lake - Dedicated paths for walking, running and cycling appeared to make the park a perfect location for exercise. Leaving Ohori Park, Ray and Traci took the subway to the Gion stop where they looked at two major religious sites - Kushida Shrine and Tochoji Temple. Kushida is a Shinto shrine founded in 757 while Tochoji is a Buddhist temple founded in 806 that features a 30 ton wooden Buddha.

While in the area, Ray and Traci stopped at the Canal City shopping and entertainment complex and had lunch at the Ramen Stadium - 8 or so ramen shops form a ring on the 5th floor. Patrons order meals from vending machines at the entrance of the shops and then sit for a rapid and tasty lunch. Both Ray and Traci enjoyed pork ramen with especially tasty strips of fatty pork. While eating they noticed the arrival of many other cruise ship guests on guided tours.  Canal City has dancing fountains similar to the ones at The Bellagio in Las Vegas.  Ray & Traci enjoyed listening to the music (ABBA’s Dancing Queen) and watching a fountain show before leaving the complex.

Ray and Traci boarded the subway one more time and exited at Hakata station which is at the basement of a huge shopping complex in Fukuoka. Visitors to Japan quickly learn how much walking is required in Japan, and the non-grid nature of the streets makes getting around confusing. Fortunately, maps are readily posted at subway stations and on key streets. The other plus to visiting Japan is safety - Both Ray and Traci feel more comfortable wandering around in Japan than anywhere else in the world including their home neighborhood in downtown Seattle. With this brief refresher visit in Japan, Ray and Traci took a taxi back to the Quantum. Once on board, Ray went to the Seaplex and took a spin on one of the bumper cars. The cars actually are pretty quick and if you hit someone head on it gives quite a jolt.

Ray and Traci braved the crowd at "complimentary" dining room Chic - quite a chaotic scene as the couple became separated by the hungry mob. Once seated, Ray had a so-so dinner consisting of a Caesar salad, prime rib, and strawberry ice cream. Traci wanted Chilean sea bass but had to settle for rack of lamb as they had no sea bass that evening. She enjoyed her lamb dinner which started with vegetable soup and ended with carrot cake. Afterwards, both travelers decided to view another production show called Sequins & Feathers. RCL entertainers put on another amazing show this time modeled after a Las Vegas type musical production which included very colorful and glitzy costumes as well as amazing vocals especially by one male cast member, Jordan. RCL certainly sets a high bar for entertainment and this show along with Starwater would appeal to many different cultures.

On the final day of their voyage, Ray ran laps around his favorite running track at sea followed by some quality time in one of the solarium jacuzzis. There are three pool areas on the 14th deck of the Quantum - an outdoor pool complex in the middle of the ship, a pool area covered by a plexiglass roof immediately in front, and an adults only solarium with small tiered pools and jacuzzis at the very front of the ship.  For lunch, Ray tried the free pizza at Sorrentos which was nothing spectacular to look at (or eat) but he ended up consuming 4 pieces followed by a cupcake bought from La Patisserie while Traci had a chicken curry wrap from the Promenade Cafe.

Periodic sales of merchandise such as watches captured huge crowds during the cruise. A special 4 for $88 sale of Citizen watches attracted Black Friday like mobs.

Before dinner, Ray went to the iFly skydiving simulator for his appointment. The iFly system is a big vertical wind tunnel that provides enough lift to overcome gravity. With the help of an instructor Ray got to fly for 60 seconds. While 60 seconds seems so brief, it actually is quite a good experience especially considering the fee - free!

From the iFly, Ray and Traci ate their last meal back at the Chops Steakhouse where they enjoyed their first meal on the Quantum. Ray ordered the special dry aged NY steak with a caesar salad, mushrooms, fried cheese, and molten chocolate cake. Traci had a mesclun salad, grilled Branzino fish, and molten chocolate cake. Both dinners were very good and again Chops steakhouse served as a haven away from the busy main dining rooms.

The ship sailed into Shanghai overnight, Ray and Traci awoke to cloudy skies. They left the beautiful Quantum of the Seas and its very friendly crew for the long journey home. The Thursday morning drive to Pudong Airport took about 80 minutes. Flying home to Seattle was much faster (about 10 hours.) In many respects, Ray and Traci's cultural experience on the ship was more authentic than their stay in Beijing. The challenges of living in a country with over a billion people were made clear in this brief adventure at sea. They wouldn't recommend flying to Asia just to sail on the Quantum (or any other ship) but seeing Beijing and especially the Great Wall was truly an amazing experience.